Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2603.16048

Monolithic Segmented 3D Ion Trap for Quantum Technology Applications

Abhishek Menon, Michael Straus, George Tomaras, Liam Jeanette, April X. Sheffield, Devon Valdez, Yuanheng Xie, Visal So, De Luo, Midhuna Duraisamy Suganthi, Mark Dugan, Philippe Bado, Norbert M. Linke, Guido Pagano, Roman Zhuravel

quant-phphysics.atom-phSubmitted Mar 17, 2026• Announced Mar 18, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Mar 31, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Mar 17, 2026v2 · Mar 31, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Monolithic three-dimensional (3D) Paul traps combine the high-precision microfabrication of two-dimensional (2D) chip traps with the deep trapping potentials and low heating rates characteristic of macroscopic 3D Paul traps, which are typically machined by traditional means and mechanically assembled. However, achieving low motional heating rates and optical access with a high numerical aperture (NA) while maintaining the high radio-frequency (RF) voltages required for trapping heavy ionic species, such as Yb$^{+}$ and Ba$^{+}$, remains a significant technical challenge. In this work, we present a fused-silica, monolithic segmented 3D Paul trap with an ion-electrode distance of 250 $μ$m, and stable operation at high RF voltages. We benchmark the performance of the trap using Yb$^{+}$ ions, demonstrating axially homogeneous trapping potentials spanning over 200 $μ$m about the axial center of the trap, high multi-directional optical access (up to 0.7 NA), and radial motional heating as low as $\dot{\bar n}=1.1 \pm 0.1 $ quanta/s at radial trap frequencies about 3 MHz near room temperature. Furthermore, we observe a motional Ramsey coherence time, ${T}_{2}$, of about 95 ms for the radial center-of-mass mode. We demonstrate the generation of a two-qubit Bell state with a parity contrast of ${99.3}^{+0.7} _{-1.5}$% with state preparation and measurement correction. These results establish fused-silica monolithic 3D Paul traps as a scalable, modular platform for quantum simulation, computation, metrology, and networking with heavy ionic species.

Comments
10+17 pages, 7+12 figures

Related papers

Monolithic segmented three-dimensional ion trap for quantum technology applications

Anonymous, Michael Strauss, George Tomaras +12 more

Monolithic three-dimensional (3D) Paul traps combine the high-precision microfabrication of two-dimensional (2D) chip traps with the deep trapping potentials and low heating rates characteristic of macroscopic 3D Paul traps, which are typically machined by traditional means and mechanically assembled. However, achieving low motional heating rates and optical access with a high numerical aperture (NA) while maintaining the high radio-frequency (rf) voltages required for trapping heavy ionic species, such as Yb + and Ba + , remains a significant technical challenge. In this work, we present a fused silica, monolithic segmented 3D Paul trap with an ion-electrode distance of 250 μ m , and stable operation at high rf voltages. We benchmark the trap’s performance using Yb + ions, demonstrating axially homogeneous trapping potentials spanning over 200 μ m about the trap’s axial center, high multidirectional optical access (up to 0.7 NA), and radial motional heating as low as n ¯ ˙ = 1.1 ± 0.1 quanta / s at radial trap frequencies about 3 MHz near room temperature. Furthermore, we observe a motional Ramsey coherence time, T 2 , of about 96 ms for the radial center-of-mass mode. We demonstrate the generation of a two-qubit Bell state with a parity contrast of 99.3 − 1.5 + 0.7 % with state preparation and measurement correction. These results establish fused-silica monolithic 3D Paul traps as a scalable, modular platform for quantum simulation, computation, metrology, and networking with heavy ionic species.

Physical Review Applied•Aug 17, 2026•0 citations

A monolithic segmented 3D ion trap fabricated from fused silica by selective laser-induced etching

Edgar Brucke, Martin Wagener, Moritz Fontboté-Schmidt +10 more

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a monolithic, segmented, three-dimensional linear Paul ion trap for quantum science applications. The trap is fabricated from a single fused-silica block using selective laser-induced etching (SLE) and is subsequently metallized, forming electrodes isolated by self-shadowing trench structures without the need for layer alignment or external shadow masks. The segmented electrodes allow for shaping of the axial potential, enabling the creation of anharmonic potential wells, such as those required for equidistant ion strings. In addition, they enable shuttling and splitting of ion chains. We discuss key design choices and SLE-imposed constraints on achievable feature sizes, and evaluate electron-beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering as metallization approaches. Across two independent experimental setups, we demonstrate stable trapping and control of linear chains of up to 33 $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ions, including approximately equally spaced configurations. The measured secular frequencies in both traps agree with boundary-element simulations at the percent level, with residual deviations attributed to stray electric fields in the presence of anharmonic axial potentials, rather than fabrication imperfections. We measure axial micromotion field strengths on the order of 100 V/m along the trap axis, in approximate agreement with simulations. For radial mode frequencies near 2 MHz and an ion-electrode distance of 300 um, we measure heating rates of the order of 10 quanta/s in all but one motional mode, which is elevated by a technical noise source. The presented trap design is thus suitable for a wide range of quantum science applications and demonstrates the viability of SLE for the fabrication of finely segmented, monolithic, three-dimensional ion traps.

physics.atom-phCross-listedarXiv:2609.01694•Sep 2, 2026•0 citations

3D-Printed Micro Ion Trap Technology for Scalable Quantum Information Processing

Shuqi Xu, Xiaoxing Xia, Qian Yu +7 more

Trapped-ion applications, such as in quantum information, precision measurements, optical clocks, and mass spectrometry, rely on specialized high-performance ion traps. The latter applications typically employ traditional machining to customize macroscopic 3D Paul traps, while quantum information processing experiments usually rely on photo-lithographic techniques to miniaturize the traps and meet scalability requirements. Using photolithography, however, it is challenging to fabricate the complex three-dimensional electrode structures required for optimal confinement. Here we address these limitations by adopting a high-resolution 3D printing technology based on two-photon polymerization supporting fabrication of large arrays of high-performance miniaturized 3D traps. We show that 3D-printed ion traps combine the advantages of traditionally machined 3D traps with the miniaturization provided by photolithography by confining single calcium ions in a small 3D-printed ion trap with radial trap frequencies ranging from 2 MHz to 24 MHz. The tight confinement eases ion cooling requirements and allows us to demonstrate high-fidelity coherent operations on an optical qubit after only Doppler cooling. With 3D printing technology, the design freedom is drastically expanded without sacrificing scalability and precision so that ion trap geometries can be optimized for higher performance and better functionality.

arXiv:2310.00595•Oct 1, 2023•2 citations

The development of microfabricated ion traps towards quantum information and simulation

Marcus Hughes

Trapped ions within Paul traps have shown to be a promising architecture in the realisation of a quantum information processor together with the ability of providing quantum simulations. Linear Paul traps have demonstrated long coherence times with ions being well isolated from the environment, single and multi-qubit gates and the high fidelity detection of states. The scalability to large number of qubits, incorporating all the previous achievements requires an array of linear ion traps. Microfabrication techniques allow for fabrication and micron level accuracy of the trap electrode dimensions through photolithography techniques. The first part of this thesis presents the experiential setup and trapping of Yb+ ions needed to test large ion trap arrays. This include vacuum systems that can host advanced symmetric and asymmetric ion traps with up to 90 static voltage control electrodes. Demonstration of a single trapped Yb+ ion within a two-layer macroscopic ion trap is presented. with an ion-electrode distance of 310(10) µm. The anomalous heating rate and spectral noise density of the trap was measured, a main form of decoherence within ion traps. The second half of this thesis presents the design and fabrication of multi-layer asymmetric ion traps. This allows for isolated electrodes that cannot be accessed via surface pathways, allowing for higher density of electrodes as well as creating novel trap designs that allow for the potential of quantum simulations to be demonstrated. These include two-dimensional lattices and ring trap designs in which the isolated electrodes provide more control in the ion position. For the microfabrication of these traps I present a novel high-aspect ratio electroplated electrode design that provides shielding of the dielectric layer. This provides a means to mitigate stray electric field due to charge build up on the dielectric surfaces. Electrical testing of the trap structures was performed to test bulk breakdown and surface flashover of the ion trap architectures. Results showed sufficient isolation between electrodes for both radio frequency and static breakdown. Surface flashover voltage measurements over the dielectric layer showed an improvement of more than double over previous results using a new fabrication technique. This will allow for more powerful ion trap chips needed for the next generation of microfabricated ion trap arrays for scalable quantum technologies.

•Jun 16, 2013•0 citations

Ion Trapping with a Laser-written 3D Miniaturized Monolithic Linear Paul Trap for Microcavity Integration

Teh, Soon, Kassa, Ezra, Gao, Shaobo +2 more

The miniaturization of ion trap and the precise placement of its electrodes are necessary for the integration of a microcavity to facilitate efficient ion-cavity coupling. We present a miniature monolithic ion trap made of gold-coated fused silica with high numerical aperture access. A laser writing method referred to as selective laser etching is employed to extract a trap structure from a block of fused silica. The fully monolithic structure eliminates the need for any post-fabrication alignment. Trenches are integrated into this structure such that the various electrodes on the monolithic device remain electrically isolated following their metalization via evaporative coating. We give details of the trap design and production, along with the demonstration of successful trapping of ions and characerization of the trap.

arXiv:2409.05075•Sep 8, 2024•0 citations

Monolithic microfabricated ion trap chip design for scaleable quantum processors

Michael Brownnutt, G. Wilpers, Patrick Robert Gill +2 more

A design is proposed for a novel ion trap quantum processor chip, microfabricated using a process based on planar silica-on-silicon techniques. The trap electrodes are of gold-coated silica and are spaced by highly doped silicon in a monolithic structure. This design allows a unit aspect-ratio trap with an ion-electrode separation below 100 μm, when using current fabrication techniques. The trapping potential is modelled and the operating parameters required to achieve motional frequencies of a few MHz are calculated. RF loss and the resultant heating of the trap chip are not found to be a factor limiting the trap's operation. This monolithic unit aspect-ratio trap is therefore expected to exhibit a deep potential well, high trap efficiency, and a low RF loss, when compared to other microfabricated traps. This technological approach is in principle scaleable to complex devices, and may form the basis for large-scale ion trap quantum processors.

New Journal of Physics•Oct 10, 2006•39 citations
Monolithic three-dimensional (3D) Paul traps combine the high-precision microfabrication of two-dimensional (2D) chip traps with the deep trapping potentials and low heating rates characteristic of macroscopic 3D Paul traps, which are typically machined by traditional means and mechanically assembled. However, achieving low motional heating rates and optical access with a high numerical aperture (NA) while maintaining the high radio-frequency (RF) voltages required for trapping heavy ionic species, such as Yb+^{+}+ and Ba+^{+}+, remains a significant technical challenge. In this work, we present a fused-silica, monolithic segmented 3D Paul trap with an ion-electrode distance of 250 μμμm, and stable operation at high RF voltages. We benchmark the performance of the trap using Yb+^{+}+ ions, demonstrating axially homogeneous trapping potentials spanning over 200 μμμm about the axial center of the trap, high multi-directional optical access (up to 0.7 NA), and radial motional heating as low as nˉ˙=1.1±0.1\dot{\bar n}=1.1 \pm 0.1 nˉ˙=1.1±0.1 quanta/s at radial trap frequencies about 3 MHz near room temperature. Furthermore, we observe a motional Ramsey coherence time, T2{T}_{2}T2​, of about 95 ms for the radial center-of-mass mode. We demonstrate the generation of a two-qubit Bell state with a parity contrast of 99.3−1.5+0.7{99.3}^{+0.7} _{-1.5}99.3−1.5+0.7​% with state preparation and measurement correction. These results establish fused-silica monolithic 3D Paul traps as a scalable, modular platform for quantum simulation, computation, metrology, and networking with heavy ionic species.
Monolithic three-dimensional (3D) Paul traps combine the high-precision microfabrication of two-dimensional (2D) chip traps with the deep trapping potentials and low heating rates characteristic of macroscopic 3D Paul traps, which are typically machined by traditional means and mechanically assembled. However, achieving low motional heating rates and optical access with a high numerical aperture (NA) while maintaining the high radio-frequency (rf) voltages required for trapping heavy ionic species, such as Yb + and Ba + , remains a significant technical challenge. In this work, we present a fused silica, monolithic segmented 3D Paul trap with an ion-electrode distance of 250 μ m , and stable operation at high rf voltages. We benchmark the trap’s performance using Yb + ions, demonstrating axially homogeneous trapping potentials spanning over 200 μ m about the trap’s axial center, high multidirectional optical access (up to 0.7 NA), and radial motional heating as low as n ¯ ˙ = 1.1 ± 0.1 quanta / s at radial trap frequencies about 3 MHz near room temperature. Furthermore, we observe a motional Ramsey coherence time, T 2 , of about 96 ms for the radial center-of-mass mode. We demonstrate the generation of a two-qubit Bell state with a parity contrast of 99.3 − 1.5 + 0.7 % with state preparation and measurement correction. These results establish fused-silica monolithic 3D Paul traps as a scalable, modular platform for quantum simulation, computation, metrology, and networking with heavy ionic species.
We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a monolithic, segmented, three-dimensional linear Paul ion trap for quantum science applications. The trap is fabricated from a single fused-silica block using selective laser-induced etching (SLE) and is subsequently metallized, forming electrodes isolated by self-shadowing trench structures without the need for layer alignment or external shadow masks. The segmented electrodes allow for shaping of the axial potential, enabling the creation of anharmonic potential wells, such as those required for equidistant ion strings. In addition, they enable shuttling and splitting of ion chains. We discuss key design choices and SLE-imposed constraints on achievable feature sizes, and evaluate electron-beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering as metallization approaches. Across two independent experimental setups, we demonstrate stable trapping and control of linear chains of up to 33 40^{40}40Ca+^++ ions, including approximately equally spaced configurations. The measured secular frequencies in both traps agree with boundary-element simulations at the percent level, with residual deviations attributed to stray electric fields in the presence of anharmonic axial potentials, rather than fabrication imperfections. We measure axial micromotion field strengths on the order of 100 V/m along the trap axis, in approximate agreement with simulations. For radial mode frequencies near 2 MHz and an ion-electrode distance of 300 um, we measure heating rates of the order of 10 quanta/s in all but one motional mode, which is elevated by a technical noise source. The presented trap design is thus suitable for a wide range of quantum science applications and demonstrates the viability of SLE for the fabrication of finely segmented, monolithic, three-dimensional ion traps.
Trapped-ion applications, such as in quantum information, precision measurements, optical clocks, and mass spectrometry, rely on specialized high-performance ion traps. The latter applications typically employ traditional machining to customize macroscopic 3D Paul traps, while quantum information processing experiments usually rely on photo-lithographic techniques to miniaturize the traps and meet scalability requirements. Using photolithography, however, it is challenging to fabricate the complex three-dimensional electrode structures required for optimal confinement. Here we address these limitations by adopting a high-resolution 3D printing technology based on two-photon polymerization supporting fabrication of large arrays of high-performance miniaturized 3D traps. We show that 3D-printed ion traps combine the advantages of traditionally machined 3D traps with the miniaturization provided by photolithography by confining single calcium ions in a small 3D-printed ion trap with radial trap frequencies ranging from 2 MHz to 24 MHz. The tight confinement eases ion cooling requirements and allows us to demonstrate high-fidelity coherent operations on an optical qubit after only Doppler cooling. With 3D printing technology, the design freedom is drastically expanded without sacrificing scalability and precision so that ion trap geometries can be optimized for higher performance and better functionality.
Trapped ions within Paul traps have shown to be a promising architecture in the realisation of a quantum information processor together with the ability of providing quantum simulations. Linear Paul traps have demonstrated long coherence times with ions being well isolated from the environment, single and multi-qubit gates and the high fidelity detection of states. The scalability to large number of qubits, incorporating all the previous achievements requires an array of linear ion traps. Microfabrication techniques allow for fabrication and micron level accuracy of the trap electrode dimensions through photolithography techniques. The first part of this thesis presents the experiential setup and trapping of Yb+ ions needed to test large ion trap arrays. This include vacuum systems that can host advanced symmetric and asymmetric ion traps with up to 90 static voltage control electrodes. Demonstration of a single trapped Yb+ ion within a two-layer macroscopic ion trap is presented. with an ion-electrode distance of 310(10) µm. The anomalous heating rate and spectral noise density of the trap was measured, a main form of decoherence within ion traps. The second half of this thesis presents the design and fabrication of multi-layer asymmetric ion traps. This allows for isolated electrodes that cannot be accessed via surface pathways, allowing for higher density of electrodes as well as creating novel trap designs that allow for the potential of quantum simulations to be demonstrated. These include two-dimensional lattices and ring trap designs in which the isolated electrodes provide more control in the ion position. For the microfabrication of these traps I present a novel high-aspect ratio electroplated electrode design that provides shielding of the dielectric layer. This provides a means to mitigate stray electric field due to charge build up on the dielectric surfaces. Electrical testing of the trap structures was performed to test bulk breakdown and surface flashover of the ion trap architectures. Results showed sufficient isolation between electrodes for both radio frequency and static breakdown. Surface flashover voltage measurements over the dielectric layer showed an improvement of more than double over previous results using a new fabrication technique. This will allow for more powerful ion trap chips needed for the next generation of microfabricated ion trap arrays for scalable quantum technologies.
The miniaturization of ion trap and the precise placement of its electrodes are necessary for the integration of a microcavity to facilitate efficient ion-cavity coupling. We present a miniature monolithic ion trap made of gold-coated fused silica with high numerical aperture access. A laser writing method referred to as selective laser etching is employed to extract a trap structure from a block of fused silica. The fully monolithic structure eliminates the need for any post-fabrication alignment. Trenches are integrated into this structure such that the various electrodes on the monolithic device remain electrically isolated following their metalization via evaporative coating. We give details of the trap design and production, along with the demonstration of successful trapping of ions and characerization of the trap.
A design is proposed for a novel ion trap quantum processor chip, microfabricated using a process based on planar silica-on-silicon techniques. The trap electrodes are of gold-coated silica and are spaced by highly doped silicon in a monolithic structure. This design allows a unit aspect-ratio trap with an ion-electrode separation below 100 μm, when using current fabrication techniques. The trapping potential is modelled and the operating parameters required to achieve motional frequencies of a few MHz are calculated. RF loss and the resultant heating of the trap chip are not found to be a factor limiting the trap's operation. This monolithic unit aspect-ratio trap is therefore expected to exhibit a deep potential well, high trap efficiency, and a low RF loss, when compared to other microfabricated traps. This technological approach is in principle scaleable to complex devices, and may form the basis for large-scale ion trap quantum processors.